


Treat With Care

by HotDamnSon



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Conditioner, Fluff and Angst, John's amazing hands, M/M, Shampoo - Freeform, Sherlock's Curls, hairdresser au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-18
Updated: 2015-12-18
Packaged: 2018-05-07 10:18:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5453078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HotDamnSon/pseuds/HotDamnSon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John is a young medical student, working at the local hair salon to put some extra cash to his name. </p><p>Sherlock's hair has special needs and he's tired of people making him look like a fool with a simple trim. Really, how hard is it to treat curls? </p><p>And when they meet...well, everything falls into place...or does it?</p><p>Based on Anotherwellkeptsecret's prompts on tumblr and all her encouragement!</p><p>*Written by a study-abroad student whose knowledge of salon work is from an ex-manager and her own hairdresser. And I know pretty much no terminology (and I'm sure there is some), nor what salons are like in England. Anyway...enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Treat With Care

**Author's Note:**

  * For [penumbra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/penumbra/gifts).



> In which we get some dirt on John and enjoy some time in the salon.
> 
> I also based the whole salon off the one I go to back in my home state. And because I haven't been home for four months, my memory is hella rusty. 
> 
> Based on Anotherwellkeptsecret's tumblr prompt!
> 
> All mistakes are my own, I just hope you enjoy this!

“A quid for a tip, are you kidding me?” John huffed under his breath as he pocketed the note from the counter. It was still something, though not what he’d expected for the hell of a good job he did covering that guys bald spot, and he needed ever quid he could get his hands on if he was going to keep up with his tuition for uni. It was really getting tight now, and he’d taken up a few more hours at the shop to bring in a bit more money.

He sighed as a repeat of the Top 40 soundtrack began playing over again. He was honestly ready to tear the whole soundsystem out altogether, these songs were getting more and more irritating the longer he was here. Everyone knew the minute you knew the words, the songs became irritating by tenfold. John, himself, was a fan of classic rock, the Beatles, a bit of smooth jazz if he was in the mood. The Top 40 was just beyond him, but apparently it was the preference of their mass of customers, a mix of teenagers to old men who were beginning to bald, with more of the customers actually being teenagers and uni students, who needed somewhere cheap to get their hair trimmed or done up for a date or whatever they had free time for.

Despite the fact that the shop was more on the cheap side of prices, that didn’t mean they’d cut corners with the use of technology, equipment, and products. John tapped his foot on the switch that turned on the vacuum, the one that sucked pretty much all the hair in it’s vicinity up and out of John’s way. It wasn’t a bad place to work, overall, and John more often than not made enough tips to help cover basic costs for the month, and send a bit back to his mum, especially when he got those kids coming in to have their hair done up for those big dances or a wedding party looking for the perfect style for the big day.

Even though his mum insisted he keep the money he made as a hairdresser and barber, he knew her health has been on the downlow for a few months, and she hadn’t been able to work as much, which meant having to dip into her already low savings fund to take care of bills. It wasn’t like Harry was any better off than he was right now, so he knew he really couldn’t expect any help from her in this area.

John quickly hurried to clean up the counter and various products he’d used during the last client’s appointment, setting aside his disappointment at the minor tip, getting ready for his next appointment: Molly. She was studying at Bart’s with John, they both took a few of the same classes, became friends, and it was only a matter of time before he convinced her to let him be her own hairdresser.

John had developed his talent for hairstyling through his mum, who herself had been a hairdresser and cosmetics professional until he was around ten and she started working her better income job after his dad passed away. He’d gotten his license a few years ago with his mum’s help, and then everything had fallen into place after that once he’d arrived at Bart’s. At first it had been a fun part-time job to do, but little by little, it got stressful some days when he was a bit lower on funds than he’d anticipated. He wasn’t too desperate yet; hopefully he wouldn’t get that desperate, and hopefully these few extra hours at the salon would help cover the extra costs this month and he wouldn’t be stuck eating just sandwiches and cereal.

After getting rid of the wipes, John double-checked that his space was clean of any hair and suds in the sink before he peaked around the corner of his room, to the seats just outside, and instantly caught the eye of Molly, who looked up from her book with a shy, yet sweet smile.

“I believe I have a Molly Hooper for my next appointment. Would that happen to be the pretty girl sitting in front of me?” John asked, a teasing smile playing on his lips.

Molly blushed slightly but started rolling her eyes while turning down the corner of the page to bookmark her place and setting it in her purse before standing up and making her way towards John. “No luck today, I take it?” she asked. “No pretty girls to see you today?”

John huffed a bit of laughter, shaking his head as he stepped aside, indicating for Molly to sit in the chair. “No such luck. Bunch of balding men and middle-aged men today and a few housewives. Nothing special,” he commented, grabbing Molly’s favorite products and placing them on the counter. “Now,” he commented, turning his attention to her. “Are we doing just a regular trim today? An inch or so off?”

Molly nodded for a moment before pausing, her cheeks quickly flushing with a blush before she could help herself. “Yes, regular trim. But also...I wanted-want to know if you could possibly style my hair for tod-tonight,” she stuttered slightly, her cheeks flushing just a bit more.

John quirked an eyebrow, fixing the height of the chair before he made to grab the sheet to put over Molly. “I can do that. Do you have a special date or something?” he inquired as the fastened the velcro on the back, making sure all of Molly’s hair was lying over her shoulders.

“N-not exactly,” Molly stuttered, avoiding John’s eye in the mirror, as John set up the sink to wash Molly’s hair, placing a towel on the rim of the sink, before turning Molly around and slowly guiding the back of the chair down and helping her get settled in before he started testing the temperature of the water. “I’m just...just going to see someone tonight. Not a date exactly, but...”

“But you’re hoping to make an impression,” John finished, knowingly, using the hose to begin to wetting Molly’s hair, running his fingers through it to make sure every hair was soaked thoroughly, making sure her scalp was soaked as well. “Temperature, okay?” he asked, and Molly answered with a small nod, before John continued, “Well I will definitely put forth all my effort to making sure you completely win him over,” he said with a genuine smile, turning off the tap as he squeezed some shampoo into his hands before moving his hands back to Molly’s hair, starting at the scalp before working his way down with his very deft, steady fingers.

It was quiet for awhile, John rinsing the sudsy shampoo from Molly’s hair as she closed her eyes, relaxing, a smile played out on her face, most likely thinking about how this meeting would go tonight. Then John worked the conditioner into her hair, drying his hands for a minute, letting her sit so the conditioner could do it’s work moisturizing and put the shampoo and conditioner back into his cabinet, before pulling out his trimmers and a few other tools, setting them on the counter before rinsing out the conditioner in Molly’s hair, ringing it out carefully, holding her hair a few centimeters from her head as he rung out as much water as possible, then lifted the chair back into place while placing an extra towel around Molly’s shoulders, holding her hair off her back. After the towel was situated, he separated her hair before he twisted one section of her hair one-handed, clipping it to the top of her head while letting the other hang section over the towel. He grabbed the comb and trimmers from the counter, quickly setting to work.

“So, tell me about this guy. I’ve never heard you mention him before. Where’d you meet, first of all?” he asked conversationally, listening as Molly happy began to talk about the guy she’d met a few weeks ago with a coffee mix up and about the work he was doing and how he was only a few years older than them. John listened carefully and he was pretty sure that the guy was just as into Molly as she seemed to be into him. He kept listening as he eventually got around to drying her hair, then, turning her away from the mirror as he began working to give her modest curls, framing her face and particularly bringing out her eyes as he referenced the pictures and directions from pinterest. Hey, when you were a hairdresser, you needed references, and pinterest was great for new ideas.

When John was finally finished and completely satisfied with his creation, he grabbed the non-toxic hairspray he liked to use for its natural qualities and made sure to spray every curl into place. When he was satisfied that Molly’s hair would survive even the worst of winds, he removed the sheet before he turned her to the mirror, and she gasped as John held his extra spare mirror behind her head, so she could get a view of the whole design.

“Oh John, that’s incredible,” she said softly, smiling confidently as she turned her head a bit this way and that. “I love this design. You’re going to have to teach me how to at least do the curls,” she said, smiling up at him thankfully.

“I’ll trade you a lesson for some dinner,” he smiled, holding a hand out to help her out of the chair, which she accepted with a simple, “Deal.”

She paid him for the session, and he saw her slip a few notes towards the back of the counter while he filed the money away with the regular payments.

After he was situated with the money, John walked Molly to the door, not a far walk, and told her to fill him in about how the night went. She promised she would, playing gently with one of her curls before bidding him goodbye, and John waved as she left, not knowing that the next following hours would be the start of a whole new chapter of his life.


End file.
